ITR filing FY 2023-24: 49% taxpayers yet to file income tax return; difficulties with ITR website cited as top reason: Survey – Times of India

With the Income Tax Returns (ITR) filing deadline approaching, numerous troubled netizens have reported encountering glitches on the tax-filing portal and facing significant difficulties during the procedure. A latest survey has said that nearly half the taxpayers are yet to file their ITR.
The survey, conducted by LocalCircles, a social media platform, pegged the percentage of taxpayers who are yet to file Income Tax Return at 49%.Additionally, it found that 33% of taxpayers have faced or are highly likely to face difficulties in the filing process, with as many as 11% admitting that it would be impossible for them to complete the procedure successfully before the 31st of July deadline.
Digging deeper into the reasons behind these difficulties, the survey reported that 16% of taxpayers are struggling to obtain the required documents. Chartered Accountants (CAs) for 14% of taxpayers have reported facing difficulties, but the primary problem, reportedly troubling as many as 38% of the respondents, is the filing portal itself.
Commonly cited issues include login failures, unresponsive pages, timeouts, problems with pre-filled data, and difficulties in uploading large files. There have also been reports of inconsistent calculations for capital gains and foreign income tax, along with non-reflection of filings post-submission.
Also Read | ITR Filing FY 2023-24: What is Form 16 and how you can download it to file your income tax return
In the midst of this outcry-choked whirlwind, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association (KSCAA), along with other Chartered Accountant associations, have reportedly written to the Income Tax Department requesting a speedy resolution of these issues.
They have also urged the department to consider extending the filing deadline in light of these substantial roadblocks, with the survey, which collected data from taxpayers across 311 districts, suggesting that the revised date for the same be set for mid- or end-August to ease the undue stress being placed on taxpayers.